Maja Korbecka

Maja Korbecka is a film journalist and independent researcher. She is an alumna of Berlinale Talents Press 2020 and Locarno Critics Academy 2023, and served on the FIPRESCI Jury at the Hong Kong International Film Festival 2023, the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival 2024, and the Berlinale 2025. In July 2025, she defended a PhD at the Freie Universität Berlin with the thesis “China’s Art Cinema at Film Festivals”.

Maja Korbecka participated in “Greatest” Short Films of All Time 2025, a first-ever poll of its kind as a collective love letter to the art of short-form moving image. yanco and Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg, in collaboration with Talking Shorts, invited filmmakers, curators, distributors, critics, and scholars worldwide to nominate 10 audiovisual works under sixty minutes that they personally consider the “greatest” of all time. This was Maja Korbecka’s submission:

Every poll like this only reflects the personal background and viewing history of the person who submits it. Therefore, I cannot say that this list represents the “Greatest” Short Films of All Time; rather, it reflects the films that have left a deep impression on me, talking from today's perspective.

— Maja Korbecka

Movie	Original Title	Director	Country	Year
How to Imagine the Unimaginable 如何想像不可想像之物	Liu Guangli, Chen Zirui	China	2023	23’
The short film starts with a reflection on the different meanings embedded in the idea of dinosaurs and fossils, how they are represented in the media, and their position in capitalist society. However, the film gradually assumes a more personal tone as filmmaker Liu Guangli uses dinosaurs as a pretext to discuss childhood and parenthood.
How a Sausage Dog Works Jak działa jamniczek	Julian Józef Antonisz	Poland	1972	8’
In Jak działa jamniczek, Julian Antonisz questions the idea of being productive: the imperative present in modernity, in both socialist and capitalist societies. Antonisz draws attention to those who are not considered productive and are therefore seen as less valuable, such as the elderly or pets.
There’s a Strong Wind in Beijing 北京的风很大	Ju Anqi	China	1999	50’
Very down-to-earth yet absurdist at the same time, Ju Anqi manages to convey what it feels like to be on the streets of Beijing.
Watching The Pain of Others	Lého Galibert-Laîné	France	2019	32’
Desktop documentary as a performance, investigation, and communication. Chloé Galibert-Laîné reflects on the power and limitations of empathy as well as the nature of the audiovisual medium.
The Blood of a Poet Le Sang d’un poète	Jean Cocteau	France	1932	55’
Pure onirism, fluidity and fun.
A Woman Waiting For Her Period 等待月事的女人	Chien Wei-ssu	Taiwan, USA	1993	24’
In her short documentary film, Chien Wei-ssu draws attention to links between migration, sense of security and menstruation. I am grateful to Women Make Waves International Film Festival in Taiwan for showing me this work.
Irani Bag	Maryam Tafakory	Iran	2021	8’
Maryam Tafakory reflects on one of the recurring motifs in Iranian cinema: a handbag. However, instead of offering a historical recap, she turns toward questions of physicality, touch, mediation, and the relationships between men and women in Iran.
Xiaoshan Going Home 小山回家	Jia Zhangke	China	1995	59’
One of the best films about the experience of migration from small towns to big cities, and about homecoming.
Take on Me - a-ha	Steve Barron		1985	3’
Animation, rhythm, movement, music, escapism. I do believe music videos should be discussed as short films.
Hostile Landscapes 不明的风景	Zhang Hanwen	China	2025	59’
In Hostile Landscapes Zhang Hanwen reflects on different forms of imprisonment and surveillance while deeply grounding the narrative in the history of the borderland between China and North Korea. In the film, the two-screen composition is not a genre convention (if we think of the art gallery film or the essay film as genres), but rather a reflection on film language and what a film frame entails—the frame also being a kind of prison.